Cheese-containing products and other dairy products are generally high in protein and can form an important part of a nutritious diet. Efforts have been made to prepare cheese-containing products and other dairy products in forms which are more convenient to consume and which have even increased nutritional benefits. Efforts have also been made to prepare such cheese-containing products and other dairy products in attractive and/or convenient shapes, sizes, and/or forms, which encourage consumption by individuals and especially by children and health-conscious adults.
Recently, for example, solid milk products have been described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/992,912, filed on Nov. 14, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,667,068. These solid milk products are high solids, low moisture, high-protein, shelf-stable milk products which are solid at ambient temperatures and, therefore, can be conveniently transported and consumed by hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,855 (Nov. 10, 1981) described a method of producing a snack-sized cheese product comprising the steps of cooling a molten cheese to a temperature of about 35° C., heating a surface area extending in the radial direction from the surface of the cheese to a thickness of ⅛ to ⅙ of the cheese diameter of the cooled cheese to a temperature of about 52 to 39° C., cutting the heated cheese into snack sized pieces by rolling within a mold die for rounding the pieces of cheese, and forming each of the snack sized pieces into a rounded shape without corners, thereby providing a snack sized cheese product formed into a desirable rounded shape such as spherical, ellipsoidal, and barrel shape and having good appearance without creases and cracks on the surface thereof as well as a homogeneous texture.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,235,321 (May 22, 2001) provided a snack food product in the form of resilient, molded, self-sustaining bodies preferably made from a heated mixture comprising a dairy product (cheese, yogurt, or pudding), gelatin, fat, and water. The product bodies are small and bite sized, having a mass to surface area ratio of from about 0.05–5 g/cm2, which facilitates molding thereof. Preferred food products are prepared by first creating a heated flowable mixture of including cheese, gelatin, fat, and water, and depositing small quantities of the mixture into molding depressions formed in powdered starch; after hardening, the resultant products are separated from the starch and packaged.
It would be desirable to provide cheese-containing products which are more convenient to consume and which have increased nutritional benefits. It would also be desirable to provide cheese-containing products in attractive and/or convenient shapes, sizes, and/or forms, which encourage consumption by individuals and especially by children and health-conscious adults. The present invention provides such cheese-containing products.